What's the average meat yield on Mule Deer
macavity
11/2/09 10:28pm
I've always butchered my own meat, and was curious about this question. If I get a clean kill, with no real loss of usable meat, what % of total body weight in usable meat should I expect from an average mule deer?
I have shot many deer, most were small to average in size, but never thought much about it until this year. I don't waste very much in trimmings, so I suppose I'm doing OK in preserving meat, but still wonder what you guys have heard or think is about right?
I'm not a professional butcher, just enjoy the knowledge that I take care of the animal from kill to freezer. Thanks
I have shot many deer, most were small to average in size, but never thought much about it until this year. I don't waste very much in trimmings, so I suppose I'm doing OK in preserving meat, but still wonder what you guys have heard or think is about right?
I'm not a professional butcher, just enjoy the knowledge that I take care of the animal from kill to freezer. Thanks
14,693
By nature, hunters are inquisitive. They ask a variety of questions about the game they seek. What do they eat? When are they most active? How large is the home range?
After an animal is down, hunters frequently wonder how much it weighed when it was alive. However, scales are seldom available in areas where hunters usually tag and field dress big game animals.
While it is seldom practical to get a total body or live weight of a freshly killed animal, it is possible make an accurate estimate of live weight after measuring a dressed animal on a scale.
Over the past 40 years retired big game biologists Jim McKenzie and Jack Samuelson, as well as big game supervisor Roger Johnson and other North Dakota Game and Fish Department biologists, have collected weights and measurements on the six big game species found in North Dakota. By using the equations found in Table 1, and knowing the dressed weight - whole body or live weight minus internal organs - it is possible to derive a good estimate of an animal's live weight.
HOW IT WORKS
After determining the dressed weight of an animal, say a white-tailed buck, use the appropriate equation listed in Table 1. If the buck weighed 150 pounds dressed, multiply that times 1.15, and then add 11.7. The 184-pound-total is close to the true live weight. The average and ranges of weights for each North Dakota big game species is highlighted in Table 2.
TABLE 1
Equations for estimating live-weight from dressed weights of six North Dakota big game species (all weights are in pounds).
Bighorn Sheep
Ram - (dressed weight x 1.13) + 31.9
Elk
Cow - (dressed weight x 1.07) + 110.4
Bull - (dressed weight x 1.30) + 24.4
Moose
Cow - (dressed weight x 1.33) + 61.0
Bull - (dressed weight x 1.27) + 78.2
Mule Deer
Doe - (dressed weight x 1.28) + 3.6
Buck - (dressed weight x 1.20) + 9.9
White-tailed Deer
Doe - (dressed weight x 1.30) + 1.60
Buck - (dressed weight x 1.15) + 11.7
Pronghorn
Doe - (dressed weight x 0.95) + 38.7
Buck - (dressed weight x 1.17) + 16.7
(Pronghorn data from G.J. Mitchell. 1971.
Journal of Wildlife Management. 35(1): 76-86)
TABLE 2
Average and range of fall live-weights in pounds for North Dakota big game species (all weights are in pounds).
ELK
Young-of-the-year:
Average weight: 298 pounds
Yearling and adult females:
Average weight: 495
Range: 438 - 556
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 698
Range: 469 - 950
MOOSE
Young-of-the-year:
Average weight: 432 pounds
Range: 310 - 500
Yearling and adult females:
Average weight: 879
Range: 600 - 1,160
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 891
Range: 550 - 1,300
MULE DEER
Young-of-the-year:
Average weight: 79 pounds
Range: 65 - 90
Yearling and adult females:
Average weight:138
Range: 110 - 170
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 163
Range: 125 - 255
BIGHORN SHEEP
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 196 pounds
Range of weights: 123 - 250
WHITE-TAILED DEER
Young-of-the-year:
Average weight: 80 pounds
Range: 55 - 105
Yearling and adult females:
Average weight:131
Range: 90 - 208
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 168
Range: 100 - 242
PRONGHORN
Young-of-the-year:
Average weight: 77 pounds
Range: 70 - 82
Yearling and adult females:
Average weight:108
Range: 91 - 124
Yearling and adult males:
Average weight: 117
Range: 100 - 134
(Pronghorn data from G.J. Mitchell. 1971. Journal of Wildlife Management. 35(1): 76-86)
THE BIOLOGY BEHIND THE NUMBERS
To biologists, these equations are not just a string of numbers. They provide insight about the animal and how well it was doing. For example, a heavier-than-average fawn suggests the animal has had an excellent diet and could have reached puberty and become pregnant at six months of age. A heavier than average doe, on the other hand, may suggest she lost her fawn(s) for some reason and was not physically taxed by nursing one or two fawns all summer.
These numbers also reveal differences in the make-up of each species. The internal organs of an average adult whitetail buck account for about 14 percent of its body weight. An average pronghorn buck would have 27 percent of its live weight allocated to internal organs.
The more muscular whitetail is built like a running back - a fast starter that tires quickly after about a quarter mile. The pronghorn's heart and lungs are larger than those of a whitetail, and contribute to its ability to run tirelessly at speeds up to 40 miles per hour for long distances, and much faster for short bursts.
ie: 180 lb live weight = 60 lbs to pack out
This seems to hold true for mulies and whitetails....I have found this pretty true of antelope too although we have only harvested a half a dozen.....With deer that number is based on many hundreds....
good luck and hope you get plenty to butcher,
Randy
Average Mule Deer buck, boned meat is 60-65 pounds.
Includes back straps, rounds, and trim from the shoulders.